Roger O. Egeberg
Roger Olaf Egeberg, M.D. (13 November 1902 – 13 September 1997 Washington, D.C.) was an American medical educator, administrator and advocate of public health. He was General Douglas MacArthur's personal physician during World War II in the Pacific theater. His other roles included Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the United States Department of Health and Human Services) during the Nixon administration and Dean of the University of Southern California's medical school.[1] [2]
Roger Olaf Egeberg
November 13, 1902
September 13, 1997 (aged 94)
1969–1971
Philip R. Lee
Charles C. Edwards
Democrat
Margaret McEchron Chahoon
One son, three daughters
Early life and family[edit]
Egeberg was born in Chicago, Illinois to Hans Olaf Egeberg (1875-1932) and Ulrikka Rostrup Egeberg (1875-1932) (née Nielsen), a Norwegian immigrant family. Egeberg married a Canadian sculptor, Margaret Chahoon (25 August 1904 - 31 March 2011), in 1929.[3] Together, they had a son and three daughters.
Education and career[edit]
Egeberg received a bachelor's degree in 1925 from Cornell University where he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. He earned his medical degree in 1929 at Northwestern University school of medicine. He became an internist and joined the faculty of Western Reserve University School of Medicine.[4]
Military service[edit]
During World War II, Egeberg was a member of the 4th General Hospital which was sent to Australia. From there he transferred to Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea (PNG) where he organised field stations and was a malaria control officer.[5] Through determined attempts to control illnesses such as malaria and sexually transmitted diseases in PNG, Egeberg was noticed by MacArthur who made him his personal physician and aide-de-camp. Egeberg rose to the rank of colonel and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Legion of Merit. At the end of the war, Egeberg treated the Prime Minister of Japan, Hideki Tojo who had shot himself. Tojo was later hanged.[6]
Academic positions[edit]
After the war, Egeberg was Chief of Medicine at Wadsworth General Hospital, head of County-University of Southern California Medical Center (1959) and Dean, USC School of Medicine (1964). After working for Nixon, Egeberg took a professorial chair at Georgetown University. In his later career, he advocated for the advanced training of doctors in geriatric medicine.[4]